1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a 3-dimensional operation input apparatus used for operating, for example, GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces), a control apparatus for controlling the GUIs in accordance with operational information, a control system including those apparatuses, and a control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pointing devices, particularly a mouse and a touchpad, are used as controllers for GUIs widely used in PCs (Personal Computers). Not just as HIs (Human Interfaces) of PCs of the related art, the GUIs are now starting to be used as interfaces for AV equipment and game machines used in living rooms etc. with televisions as image media. Various pointing devices that a user is capable of operating 3-dimensionally are proposed as controllers for the GUIs of this type (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-56743 (paragraphs (0030) and (0031), FIG. 3) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-56409 (paragraphs (0018), (0021), and (0022), FIGS. 1 and 2); hereinafter, respectively referred to as Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Patent Document 1 discloses an input apparatus including angular velocity gyroscopes of two axes, that is, two angular velocity sensors. When a user holds the input apparatus in hand and swings it vertically and laterally, for example, the angular velocity sensors detect angular velocities about two orthogonal axes, and a signal as positional information of a cursor or the like displayed by a display means is generated in accordance with the angular velocities. The signal is transmitted to a control apparatus, and the control apparatus controls display so that the cursor moves on a screen in response to the signal.
In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique of detecting accelerations of a pen-type input apparatus using two acceleration sensors, and calculating movement amounts of the pen-type input apparatus by integrating the accelerations.